Clarissa Evans

The archery commander, hands planted on her hips, looked over the fallout of the giant’s invasion. There was a thick layer of visceral and fleshy chunks pooling in the hollow. An effort was being made by the Bloated Ratsins to slurp it all up, but the stone would never be clean. Never could be. Now when a fresh batch of that paint was just around the corner. Forever a blood-drenched field of ruin.

“Man, this place we’re locked in has some fucked up shit,” frowned Clarissa. “I thought I was used to the sight of slaughter… Badass as I am, and ya’ll ain’t terrible either. Still, that was some twisted monster on monster action. Swear I saw a rat head bounce off the opposite wall! One swipe, and whoosh! Splat! Ba, bop, boop! That’s the head bouncing afterwards.” She wiggled her eyebrows at everyone. The green and queasy looks they gave her made the redhead snicker all the more joyfully.

“How macabre of you, Clarissa,” accused Harken drily. “Perhaps, you’d like to offer some sound effects for the great reaping sweeps of those giants?” Perhaps the priestly man had wanted to remind her of the seriousness of what they witnessed. Unfortunately, such a maneuver couldn’t dim the archer’s humor.

Clarissa sparkled with glee and opened her mouth to oblige him. Julia was quick to butt in on the fun, “Don’t encourage her! That’s completely playing her game.”

The redhead stuck her tongue out and chuckled. She didn’t laugh alone. There were laughs and smiles, but most importantly, life returned to pale cheeks. Even Julia’s lips smirked even as the shieldmaiden emoted anger. The only one who was still serious was Malachi. Their leader barely seemed to notice the banter. His attention was on the charnel chamber.

“Alright, El Capitan-o!” grinned Clarissa as she slunk up to the sword acolyte’s side. “What’s the forecast? I’m guessing thirty percent chance of departure. Though by the set of your jaw and silence, there are rising odds of us tracking through the bloody muck. Hmm, blood muck… blood mud, mud blood… hah! Wizard racists are dumb.”

Ignoring the fabulous word association chain, Julia asked, “Wait, you're thinking of pushing through to the door now? What about resting first?”

Malachi turned them and nodded. “The whole purpose of resting was to let the Ratsin’s deplete their own numbers. That’s been done for us, ruthlessly and efficiently. We can take what’s left, hell Damian’s super spell might do them all in. Why wait?”

“Are you not forgetting about the giants themselves?” questioned Harken. “They were fearsome, and yet I don’t believe we saw half the power at their disposal.”

“That really loud one apparently doesn’t want them tangling with us,” pointed out Clarissa. “Mr. looky-loo was definitely interested in throwing down, but got his leash jerked.”

“We don’t know the context of that interaction,” frowned Julia. “It could have meant anything. The simplest being we’re a distraction and not in their territory. The moment we start mucking about in there could change everything.”

“Not sure how much mucking we could really do in there,” said Clarissa. “It’s already pretty mucked up! Hah!” Eye rolls and blatant ignoring had zero effect on her cheer. She would be happy to crank her behavior.

“We can take them,” said Phelain as he swaggered up, Hector beside him. His partner side-eyed him with an exhausted smile. “They're big, but still rats.”

“Your enthusiasm aside,” said Malachi, breaking back into the conversation. “These concerns can be easier tested. I worry that starving their numbers will have some effect on the giant rats’ behavior. For the moment, they and the “loud one” aren’t interested in this cavern. This may be our easiest opportunity to take a look at the door.”

“Why the rush?” asked Molly. “Surely, seeing it now versus later will make little difference. Sounds like originally you had planned to put it off for another day.”

“That option was looking good before the roar,” explained their leader. “I had tunnel vision between that little scene of perdition and the door. Didn’t even notice the gigantic hole in the wall… It was safer to put off the risk of wading through the bloodshed. But like I said, the numbers aren’t against us anymore. A little effort and we can take a look. Then it might be just a quick walk across. To hell with what’s in that hole.”

“You think it would be that easy?” asked Warner. Eyes wide with genuine curiosity and excitement. “The Pit doesn’t seem that kind, but I’m up for some more fun.”

“No,” shrugged Malachi. “But, I’m a little hopeful.”

“Well, I’m sold,” grinned Clarissa. “Always up for crazy hopeful plans. How we doin’ this?”

Julia looked put out as she said, “Seriously… what happens if, like every time, we throw around Mana and the giants come charging? Not just one, but the whole pack.”

“We take them on too!” declared Phelain confidently.

Clarissa shook her head, thinking, Gods this dude ‘s dumb. Who’d think dying would give him a worse deathwish?

“Hell no,” answered Malachi, countering enthusiasm with rational tartness. “We run if they show more than a snout. They can’t fit in this tunnel and I refuse to risk a fight when we’re not one hundred percent. Damian drops the hammer and Leon blocks up the tunnel. No giants.. We open a hole in the barrier to let the stragglers in one at a time. They show, tomorrow's another day folks.”

“And what happens if they charge in once we’re halfway across or at the door?” pushed Julia, the worry clear on her face. “This just doesn’t seem worth the risk…”

“Ju Ju, this whole place is a risk,” replied Clarissa, her voice soft and serious. “If the only reason not to do something is cause we’ll face some monsters then we’re going nowhere.”

“I know that,” snapped Julia, looking hurt. “I didn’t speak up because I’m afraid. My fear isn’t the issue. I just don’t see why, now, is the time. The door isn’t going anywhere.”

The archery commander looked at the sword acolyte. She had fallen in line with his decision with barely a thought. Just a habit, but on reflection, the redhead realized it was a little hasty. It did, however, seem to be very important to the man. There was hunger in his eyes as Malachi stared at the distant glimmer. Then it came to her. A jumble of notions and concepts, but Clarissa understood. Turning back to Julia, she said, “For the Sky.”

“What do you mean?” responded the shieldmaiden.

The redhead tried to find the words to explain. “I get it. Like, remember his speech? Malachi promised us we’d see the Sky again. Now, we’re lookin’ at the way up. The next step, and it’s right there. Before gettin’ to the door was too dangerous. Not worth the risk at all… now though… would you wanna go back tell everyone else you didn’t even try?”

Julia flushed and seemed to mentally try to chew down on that. It took a moment, but finally, the shieldmaiden smiled at her. “That makes sense. We have to at least try.”

“Like the man said, we dip if the giants pop in,” smiled Clarissa as she hung over Julia. The fun of hanging her dead weight was somewhat lessened by how the warrior woman could now apparently support it with little effort. Now the question is… do I find another way to be deliciously annoying Or ask for piggyback rides?

With the main opposition supporting Malachi’s gamble, the Sixty moved forward. Damian was called up and told the plan. He was happy to go along with the plan if they collected Mana crystals during the crossing. There was some resistance at the idea of poking through fleshy soup, but the obsidian acolyte promised to see about cleaning this up. Superficially at least Clarissa expected. There was no way that stone could ever be considered pristine.

In moments they were all blinded by violet light. Bright as a star, but Damian was still visible at the heart of it. His words echoed outwards, etching his will on reality. The Ratsins of the chamber turned as if catching the words and listening to a sermon. The beasts began to screech out, their attention locking onto the Sixty. Once again the feuds broke. Not in fear this time, but with mad hunger. The obsidian acolyte came to his final words and the spell began to form. Starfire Rain materialized hundreds of violet balls in the cavern.

As the arcane orbs fell, the rat things learned they should have been afraid. Stars fell and the monsters were blocked from view. Screams roses as the violet expanded in slow explosions. Clarissa got a whiff of how Damian planned to clean up the muck. The smell of boiled blood and cooked meat filled the air. There wasn’t a scent of char as the violet energy simply dissolved the flesh and filth. The heat was just a byproduct that caused the lovely perfume.

The domes of violet shattered and the shards went hunting. Damian directed the arcane slivers to attack the cannibals on the rim of the hollow. Their death cries cut sharply and then died quickly. Leon tossed up a barrier at the opening and silence blanketed everything as the spell ended. The archery commander had been listening from the telltale thumps during Starfire Rain and heard nothing. That was true again. There was only the rustling of a few survivors. In various states, the Ratsins of the chamber were getting up. Vengeful shrieks announced they were coming as the beasts charged. No sign of the giants.

Following the plan, Leon reshaped his barrier so there was room for one person to hold the line. Julia, ever the volunteer, beat Phelain by a second for the first turn. The frontliners lined up to switch off as needed. At Clarissa’s suggestion, the hole had been made big enough for the archers to support. She set up with her more accurate students, Amiyah and Vihaan, to shoot down what they could. It was the redhead’s opinion that the acolytes should just be resting. Especially with Damian mostly spent. They would need the heavy hitters if the giants decided to stop ignoring them.

They rotated as necessary and the Sixty dispatched all comers. It was simple work. None had endured Damian’s spell unscathed. Burned and bleeding, the Ratsins were put down. Arrows flew over the defender’s head so that some of the rats never even made it to the tunnel opening. When the chamber went quiet again, that was because it was empty. A silence that burned at the ears.

After that everyone took a rest. In Clarissa’s opinion, it wasn’t a very good one. The Sixty’s eyes were caught between nervous looks at the giants’ entrance and wired studies of the distant golden door. As every performer must, the redhead did her best to distract. Jokes and bad puns for all. There was some good reception, but overall a bad crowd.

She was getting bored when Malachi stood up abruptly. Their bearded leader looked around at them stoically and said, “Time to go.”

The Sixty gathered up in a loose formation, focusing more on mobility than defense this time. There were strong doubts from the Council if the frontliners could defend well enough against giant rats to hold the battlelines. Splitting into parties was the current plan should those monsters make an appearance. A fighting retreat to the tunnel home the moment one showed even a toe or nose.

Across the hollow, they went. Eyes swiveled as they dashed to the doors. Almost a mad one, but discipline held. Damian had been true to his word, at least partial. The Sixty didn’t find charnel soup to wade through, but instead a tacky surface. Their steps were muffled by the remnant of filth, but each lifting of the foot brought a repulsive velcro sound. Clarissa paid little attention to what exactly the Sixty were walking on, but did encourage others to do so. She would remember those reactions gleefully in the future.

Sounds began drifting to them about halfway across the chamber. It came to them mutely as they crossed over the coveted center of the hollow. Screams. Repeated screams that seemed to have no space for breath between them. There was a monstrous tone to them, but that didn’t make it any less unnerving. If the Sixty’s pace picked up then, it was hard to figure out the reason. It could have been to escape the screams or the golden prize urging them onwards by its growing closeness.

They stopped breathless behind Malachi about ten feet from the door. There was something like reverence for how they all stood there studying it. Almost dreamlike quality to it. Even Clarissa could feel that rising fear that it was all an illusion. One step closer and it would vanish. She was mesmerized, caught in the impulse to go closer, and yet trapped by that fearful need to stay away. The suspense built pressure quickly as they all waited for someone to risk it.

Then Damian dropped a pile of Mana crystals on the ground. Mad blue stones scattered about as the obsidian acolyte plopped them down without ceremony. Anastasia followed after puffing with her own armful. The blond woman almost tipped over as she added to the azure mound. Clarissa began to laugh. Everyone was staring with shock and the two acolytes went about packing their haul unaware of the eyes. A few chuckles followed as the pressure faded. The tension was gone. There was shuffling in the crowd and Damian gave them all a confused look. Being unconcerned, the obsidian acolyte asked for the crystal everyone grabbed to be brought to him. The redhead felt a little guilty about forgetting to look for those.

“Alright, let’s take a real look at this thing,” said Malachi as he shook his head and smiled. He walked up to the hazy edge of the illusion. Only hesitating a moment before attempting to cross it. There was no resistance and Clarissa led the group that followed after him. Some of the Sixty stayed back. Unsure looks were thrown at the door and behind themselves. A new pressure was building. This one from the seed of hope mixed with a budding of worry.

The door was a golden circle that was set about a foot deep into the stone wall. Where stone and gold met there was a silver lining. Like the door sat in the middle of a passageway. The archery commander was vaguely reminded of doorways seen in shows with spaceships. There was no visible way to open the door or even shift it. Their leader placed his hands upon the golden surface and pushed. Words suddenly appeared. Centered, they hovered around an inch or two from the door. Black lined letters of the white that always faced you no matter the angle you looked at them,

Young Ratsins - 200/200

Pure Ratsins - 100/100

Bloated Ratsins - 80/80

Starving Ratsins - 30/30

Upper Tunnel Ratsins - 100/100

Mutant Ratsins - 50/50

Dead Things - 9/9

Spined Ratsins - 200/200

Gluttonous Ratsins - 100/100

Giant Ratsins - 0/12

The Big One - 0/1

Entry Barred Until Completion

The last few lines were a little blurry and she swore that they twitched into other words a few times. Clear as day it was a list and she laughed a little at the sight of it. Clarissa said, “Well fuck it’s like a gods damn video game. So much for avoiding the loudmouth… Weird we got the names right though.”

“We did not “get” the name correctly,” broke in Damian. He had finished gloating over his new Mana crystals and had come to take a look. The obsidian acolyte in his usual good mood was happy to explain. “You are just seeing the enchantments that translate for us doing its best to match words for our understanding.”

“Huh, that must be why some of them look unstable,” considered Clarissa, scratching her head. “We haven’t decided on any names yet. They're just sorta place holders, but ones that I would get. So that I know what kind of monster to hunt.”

“It is a lovely piece of magic,” hummed Damian. “I wish I had the expertise to understand the mechanics of it. The wonders you can do with what is effectively a Mana constructed quantum computer. One hooked up to aid our very minds!”

“Shit!” exclaimed the redhead. “It’s something like that? That seems, well, really big!”

“Quite big,” agreed Damian. “A lot of effort goes into basic translation and often they are not perfect. Things are lost in translation. This enchant does not have that issue. It uses a connection to us to maintain the intent and the nuance of the communication.”

“That is fascinating,” commented Malachi. The sword acolyte was still looking at the door with a frown. Not really seeing the words. “I can imagine the possibilities… But that discussion will have to wait till later. Maybe with tea? Anyways, the door won’t open now. Let’s go back for now. We’ll come back at full strength.”

There wasn’t any argument to that. It was clear how to open the door, but few seemed worried about getting that done right away. Clarissa herself felt that rest and a bed seemed a lot more enticing than continuing the fight. The rats could wait, the redhead wanted some sleep.

Warner frowned as everyone turned away from the golden door. She noted the furrowed brow as the brawler contemplated the golden door and the giants’ entrance. “You sure we should just go back?” he asked with a small measure of challenge to his tone.

Julia looked ready to dive in to shut the conversation down, but Malachi spoke first. “Is there any reason we shouldn’t put it off for tomorrow? Beyond that, we’re already here.” Their bearded leader waited patiently for an answer.

“Nah, I don’t suppose I have one,” admitted Warner. “Just, raring to go at one of the biggums. That pale one kinda left me blue ballin’ for a fight.”

“You’ll get your chance, Warner,” smiled Malachi. “In a day or a few, when we can come at them with our full strength.”

“Alright,” sighed the brawler. “A couple of nods will do me good too, I guess.”

The raid group made it a fourth of the way back across when a giant entered the chamber.